Are dealers allowed to sell for more than retail?!?!

J

Jbraman

Joined
Jan 17, 2013
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160
Stopped by a local gun/tactical/airsoft store today. This store is notorious for their horrible overpricing. Like pretty much double the value on normal every day items. Well to my excitement I noticed they had a good selection of BM on display and I was tickled to get to fondle a contego. Then I noticed the prices. It seemed every knife in the case was marked approximately $50 higher than full retail. The 810bk combo blade was marked at $250!

Are they allowed to do that? Is there a law or policy against it? or is it just an ethical problem? Obviously I didn't buy since even full retail from the BFC website would have been a discount.
 
There's nothing wrong with it unless they go broke because they can't move them at that price. Buy them somewhere else.
 
They can, But won't move any. Most people refuse to even pay retail. There are so many places to buy online there is no reason to.
 
There is a gun store near my house that does the same thing! I was there using the range and they had a big "knifes sale" sign. I took a look, and the sale meant the knives were at retail prices!
 
I've yet to see anyone who is shopping for Airsoft stuff pay even street-price for higher quality production knives (much less, more than retail).
 
The arguement is old; why shop retail when you and I can get much better deals online...?

1. There's a terrific dealer locally that carries a great selection and with a good number of NOS models. They're a shaving shop in order to survive...But these are all at MSRP and the best he will do is 10% if you go in and not over the phone. I could do better. But he will let me play with the models as long as I buy something from time to time. :rolleyes:

2. There's a less than terrific dealer (Gold at that...) also in the area that happens to be the largest gun supply store. Not only do they have above retail prices but stick labels with their demanded (not requested) price on the blade; which you know as well as I can damage the finish. Worst yet, where Is the knife display? Right in front of a VERY busy cash register. :grumpy:

So yes, dealers CAN sell above MSRP which is the SUGGESTED price, but why bother? I go online to my favorite place that "Works", where they know me and usually take the time to inspect the knife before it ships out.

Heck...I'll pay less for better customer service anytime! :cool:
 
Think of it as window shopping. Go there and fondle to your heart's content and then go to benchmade.com or to one of their authorized online dealers and order directly .
 
I just don't get it. There is a knife shop on the wharf in San Francisco, and they have an amazing selection of Chris Reeves, Benchmades, Spydercos, Kershaws, ZTs, William Henrys, and a plethora of other manufacturers; probably around 300 or more knives on the floor. They charge either at, or above MSRP and it's ridiculous. A Spyderco Sage 2 was $210, a knockoff XM-18 was $450, BM Griptilians were around $150-$180ish, and all their other knives were 150%-200% higher than what you can get them for online.

When I was there (for an hour or so), no one bought a knife that was over $20. All of their higher end knives had blade play and many of them had heavy rust pitting on the blades; since they were just displayed on the wall, and about 20ft from the ocean. I just don't get how they stay in business; I'm baffled.
 
One word: Tourists.

knife2Agunfight said:
I just don't get it. There is a knife shop on the wharf in San Francisco, and they have an amazing selection of Chris Reeves, Benchmades, Spydercos, Kershaws, ZTs, William Henrys, and a plethora of other manufacturers; probably around 300 or more knives on the floor. They charge either at, or above MSRP and it's ridiculous. A Spyderco Sage 2 was $210, a knockoff XM-18 was $450, BM Griptilians were around $150-$180ish, and all their other knives were 150%-200% higher than what you can get them for online.

When I was there (for an hour or so), no one bought a knife that was over $20. All of their higher end knives had blade play and many of them had heavy rust pitting on the blades; since they were just displayed on the wall, and about 20ft from the ocean. I just don't get how they stay in business; I'm baffled.
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Manufacturer or vendors specifying minimum selling prices was outlawed in the USA many years ago, by a supreme court decision IIRC. Such laws were called "Fair Trade" laws and they were supposed to allow small retailers to compete with the big chain stores. Not sure if it ever affected selling over MSRP though as in shortage situations many items have sold for premiums over MSRP even when "Fair Trade" laws were legal. For example cars right after WWII for a couple of years. What manufacturers can do though is per dealer contract specify a minimum advertised price which cannot be publically advertised below.

The way dealers such as Blade HQ gets around this is to only show their actual selling price on knives with such dealer contract restrictions to customers with an account when they are signed in. Casual visitors or customers who are not yet signed in see the contract specified minimum allowed publically advertised price.
 
knife2Agunfight said:
I just don't get it. There is a knife shop on the wharf in San Francisco, and they have an amazing selection of Chris Reeves, Benchmades, Spydercos, Kershaws, ZTs, William Henrys, and a plethora of other manufacturers; probably around 300 or more knives on the floor. They charge either at, or above MSRP and it's ridiculous. A Spyderco Sage 2 was $210, a knockoff XM-18 was $450, BM Griptilians were around $150-$180ish, and all their other knives were 150%-200% higher than what you can get them for online.

When I was there (for an hour or so), no one bought a knife that was over $20. All of their higher end knives had blade play and many of them had heavy rust pitting on the blades; since they were just displayed on the wall, and about 20ft from the ocean. I just don't get how they stay in business; I'm baffled.
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'We Be Knives' on the Wharf has one mission; to sell to the tourist crowd. They have a good selection but I'd never buy anything from them on the principle that I can get mine 50% cheaper from people that appreciate return business.
 
This is the same at a local gun shop that sells Benchmade (has a decent selection).
He wants MSRP prices (a couple were above MSRP) and said it wasn't his choice but Benchmades.

Here's some inside tips:
Being honest works well, has helped me get several watches (and other things) even well below the allowed discount % from mfg.
Tell them your budget, tell them their competitor's pricing and the motivation as to why you would spend money with them versus another dealer (online or retail). (whether it's to get the product on the spot, or inspect the knife before you buy, etc).

Whatever you do, don't say your motivation to buy from them is because you prefer to give money to local businesses specially when you are asking for discounts. It's darn near evident your purpose is to save money.
 
Locutus D'Borg said:
They can price as they want, unless the maker dictates a price.
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Yeah, I agree with this. Some makers might set a price, usually MSRP or close and if the shop sells them or advertises them at a different price set by the maker, they (the shop) could lose the acct to sell that knife. Otherwise it might just be supply vs demand or the shop doesnt have a clue what they are doing! LOL
 
Luis G. said:
Whatever you do, don't say your motivation to buy from them is because you prefer to give money to local businesses specially when you are asking
for discounts. It's darn near evident your purpose is to save money.
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I'll disagree strongly with this.

I work for a retailer in another industry, and prices are ridiculously competitive. Manufacturers dictate MAP (Minimum Advertised Price), and everyone adheres to that. The manufacturer cannot, though, dictate the actual selling price.

I'm almost always asked for a deeper discount, and I give customers the best deal I can, but I'm usually priced above the big-box online guys. When a customer tells me he wants to spend his money locally, I do everything I can to make sure he's happy he made that decision. Price and value are two very different things, and I'll always highlight the value of spending a few more bucks with a local shop to a customer.

Anyone can beat a price...
 
Steve5D said:
I'll disagree strongly with this.

I work for a retailer in another industry, and prices are ridiculously competitive. Manufacturers dictate MAP (Minimum Advertised Price), and everyone adheres to that. The manufacturer cannot, though, dictate the actual selling price.

I'm almost always asked for a deeper discount, and I give customers the best deal I can, but I'm usually priced above the big-box online guys. When a customer tells me he wants to spend his money locally, I do everything I can to make sure he's happy he made that decision. Price and value are two very different things, and I'll always highlight the value of spending a few more bucks with a local shop to a customer.

Anyone can beat a price...
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You are dead on. However my post was more designed towards situations like the OP. Retailers who price at MSRP or above it. If you walk in when they know their prices are high and you tell them you'd rather give a local business money yet at the same time getting them to try lowering their prices to online prices.... guess how that looks towards the owner.
 
Luis G. said:
You are dead on. However my post was more designed towards situations like the OP. Retailers who price at MSRP or above it. If you walk in when they know their prices are high and you tell them you'd rather give a local business money yet at the same time getting them to try lowering their prices to online prices.... guess how that looks towards the owner.
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I deal with this, literally, every day. Sometimes I can match the online price, and sometimes I can't.

When I can't, it's up to me to put a value to the higher price. Of course the customer is going to try to save a few bucks. That's what customers do. But if I can't beat an internet dealer on price, I know I can beat him on value, and I can do it every single time. Ultimately, it's up to the customer to decide if all he wants is the lowest price. If that's all he wants, I'm really not all that interested in having him as a customer...
 
SunsetFisherman said:
I wonder how many they actually sell, seems like you'd have to have done zero research to get suckered like that.
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Last I looked a couple of Baton Rouge retailers had Ares on display at full MSRP.

They haven't moved in all these years. I wasn't particularly interested as they had serrated blades.
 
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